List of notable ports
Some systems are easier, or harder to emulate than others. For that reason, using a port of that game for another system might be useful. Also, systems may have inherent flaws, which are not found in a port of that game on another system. A game may also be natively ported to the PC, which might be easier to run. This is not a complete list of every single port ever. Instead this focuses on games which are notable for having issues, which are solved by using another system. (E) beside the name means that this port relies upon simple emulation of a rom, and thus the rom can be extracted from that port and played in another emulator. ® refers to a full remakes. Remakes may dramatically differ from the original game. There is however, some grey area between an "enhanced port" and a "remake". A game may be ported Console versions may be more convenient to set up. See Virtual Console games or PlayStation Store games or Xbox Live Arcade games PC versions Benefits It is usually preferable to rely on a native PC port rather than emulation. With emulation, all of the flaws of the system are also emulated, which are avoided with a direct PC port. The system requirements are significantly less than emulation. Ports to PC may support enhanced graphics, and sometimes superior controls for FPS games. Drawbacks However, sometimes these ports were sloppy, and prone to bugs. It has to be approached on a case by case basis. The game may also only have very out dated options, such as only a few resolutions. The most common PC ports were to the Windows brand of operating systems. Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows 2000 ports may be difficult to run on a modern Windows OS such as Windows 7 or Windows 8, usually with varying levels of compatibility or patching required. Wine can many times play these games very well. Other ports were to DOS, which can be played very well in DOSBox. Many times fans have stepped in and released patches which can fix some of these issues. This is typcially for only the most popular games however, and obscure titles may have no fixes. Often times, controllers will not be entirely recognized by these old PC games. The most commonly cited is the digital pad not being recognized. In that case the program JoyToKey can be helpful. PC to console ports Since game consoles are much less powerful than PCs, it is recommended to avoid PC games ported to consoles. Typically the games have to be altered to fit the constraints of console, and may be forced to use a radically different control scheme. An exception to this rule would be Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine's N64 port. NES NES games sometimes suffered from slowdown, and sprite flickering. Sharp X6800 May be easier to emulate ports than the original versions. SNES Some SNES games suffered from slowdown which may be fixed in ports. Many SNES games were ported to the GBA. These versions may have extra features, but at the cost of poorer audio and visuals. The resolution is lower, and it was never intended to be played on a full display. The screen area may also be reduced due to the lower resolution. The audio is much lower quality than the SNES. Also, the GBA has much stronger colors to compensate for the lack of contrast in the original GBA display. To compensate, a shader or an option is needed. Additionally for controls, the gba has two fewer buttons. Several SNES games were ported to the PlayStation. These are typically emulated, and the CD format creates long loading times. Generally it is recommended to avoid the PS1 ports for this reason and to stick with the original releases. However, in some cases the PS1 port might offer more features. Sega Saturn Saturn emulation is poor, with only one emulator, SSF, worth using. That emulator however is Windows only. Playstation The PS1 has problems with 3D which become more noticeable in HD emulation. Many PS1 games were ported to Windows. However, these PC ports may be difficult to run on modern operating systems, such as Windows 7 or Windows 8. Nintendo 64 The N64 is a difficult system to emulate, and no emulator has a high degree of game compatibility. It may be easier to rely upon a port rather than try to emulate it. Also, many N64 games had poor draw distance and other flaws that ports might reduce or fix. PC ports would also typically sport enhanced graphics and superior controls for FPS games. Dreamcast Dreamcast emulation is mediocre at best. Since the system died early, many games were ported to other consoles. Playstation 2 3DS The 3DS has been emulated via Citra emulator but native ports are still preferable. Category:FAQ Category:FAQs